By Randi Locke
How Doechiis album outlines her story from past to present while honoring hip hop’s roots
2025 is the year of the Alligator for rapper Doechii. She is up for four Grammy nominations and even got a stamp of approval from Kendrick Lamar. Hailing from Tampa Florida, Doechii has been climbing the charts since Yucky Blucky fruit cake. Doechii is a force to be reckoned with and her last album Alligator Bites Never Heal is no exception. This album can be replayed in a loop on days when you are flying high or want to cry in the car. A major reason for this is the authenticity of the album. Doechii pulls from her Southern upbringing and her feelings about being a rising celebrity. The songs Stanka Pooh, Denial is a River, Bloom, and Boom Bap act as the beginning of each act.
Every great body of work needs an amazing intro and Stanka Pooh is no different. Instead of answering the question “what’s next?” It makes you think about the end. Starting the song with “Let’s start the story backward. I’m dead she’s dead just another black lives matter. And if I die today I die a bastard Tik Tok rapper and part-time YouTube actor”. On the surface, this is just a thought about mortality and whether or not she will leave a mark on the world. But as the song goes on you realize it’s not about her mortality it’s about the lifespan of her career. Doechii has stated that she wrote and released the album a month after letting her label Top Dawg Entertainment know she would release a mix tape on August 30th. Though Doechii was already making a buzz in the music scene, it’s clear that she wanted to cement herself as an artist who is here to stay. The song is a conversation with herself. Questioning whether to go ahead with the album instead of waiting for permission from her label. Hence the lyrics “I’m not nervous I’m just concerned for us. What if I die a Taurus? What if I die on purpose?”. That moment in the song is real. It’s not just an artist picking which lyrics to share or what dress to wear, it’s her asking herself what if she messes up or what if she can’t see this to completion. The song ends with “And if those the only fears that I’ll take to my grave I’m pissing on you hoes living or dead.”. Affirming her decision this album does well, she’s doing it anyway. This song sets the tone for the album’s first Act. The slow pace sets the tone for BullFrog and Boiled Peanuts. In these songs, Doechii lets us into her life. From letting us know that she is a star in Bull Frog, to sampling music from Game of Thrones in Boiled Peanuts. The song highlights that despite her making it big, she is still grappling with leaving her home town behind.
Denial is A River is a perfect catalyst for the second Act. In continuing on this path of vulnerability Doechii lays out how her rise to fame was not the end of all her problems. As a call back to Yucky Blucky fruitcake she turns the song into a therapy session. After rapping about how she broke up with her cheating boyfriend in 2019 she attempts to brush it off with the lyrics “I moved on, dropped a couple songs and then went and got signed and now its 2021.” When its suggested that she should address the issue Doechiis’s response “nah” is relatable. Who wants to think about trauma when you are finally succeeding? It’s not until she almost takes a break midway “My grass is really green and honestly I can’t even cap no more this is a really dark time for me.” The honesty continues as Doechii delves into how her self esteem is low despite her many successes. This song transitions the second Act to Doechii sharing her experience with fame thus far. From sampling Busta Rhymes Woohah Got you all in check on Catfish while rapping about how despite the new threads, she is still the same girl. While Skipp dives into how despite having a team behind her she feels alone. Following Skipp, Hide N Seek feels like Doechii is trying not to lose more of herself. The repeating lyrics layered over a hypnotizing techno beat demonstrates her disjointed state.
Bloom not only starts ACT 3 but acts as a continuation on the theme of introspection. The album starts out with a conversation between Doechii and her conscience describing how hard it is to try to make time for everyone in her life while making sure she doesn’t burn out. The chorus “Found a place to grow I feel wonderful .Found a place to Bloom I feel beautiful”. The chorus serves as the present while the conversations serve as the past. At the end of the song it is her past self talking about how she wanted to chase her dreams and make music. Doechii has brought into fruition the success she has today. She even documented her journey on YouTube with her earliest video being her singing “do you want to build a snowman” ten years ago with some classmates. Knowing this , the song Wait feels like a letter to her past self . Telling the young girl on YouTube to focus on the now and the rest will come. Death Roll allows us into Doechiis thoughts about sobriety. Going back and forth between wondering what is so great about herself to riding on high. Profit is where Doechii begins to make peace with who she is in the industry . Celebrating how despite the pitfalls, she is successful.
Thus bringing us to Boom Bap. The start of the final Act is a song that challenges those with a pre conceived notion of hip hop with the lyrics “ Say it’s real and it’s rap and it boom and it bap and it’s house and it’s trap. It’s everything”. She even calls out her label with “Get top on the phone” Although this song is about what hip hop means to her, she’s sharing the feeling of joy in finding who she is. To top it off the song samples Kendrick Lamar’s Untitled 06/23/2014. From there the album showcases Doechiis fully realized confidence with her viral hit Nissan Altima dubbing herself “the trap grace jones”. GTFO continues the good energy with lyrics that let those who are against her know they cannot compare. Meanwhile Slide can easily be played at any summer function. Fireflies and Beverly Hills on the other side is Doechii letting go of romantic relationships that no longer serve her.At the end of the Album it feels like you have seen Doechii grow and alligator bites never heal still reminds us that even though she has come far,her pain has influenced who she is.
